XBIT labs have published information related to the upcoming Core i5 and Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors from Intel. These will be available in Q2 2012, and are quad core, except for one, which is a budget model.

The remainder of the Core i5 processors have a 6MB cache and range in speeds from 2.7ghz to 3.4ghz. The Core i7 lineup have 8MB of cache and range from speeds of 2.5ghz to 3.5ghz.

The new Ivy Bridge CPU's will support PCIe 3.0 x 16 and have native support for USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt technologies. The most noticeable change however is the move to the 22nm process, which relates to around a 30 percent drop in size. The benefits are well known – less power, lower heat output and lower energy costs are some of the improvements over the current range of chips.

The smaller central processor design also means that Intel will be able to make more room for the integrated graphics side, they reckon the performance will be 60% better, and will support Direct X 11.

If you already have a new motherboard, fear not, because the new chips will work with the Sandy Bridge boards with many manufacturers planning bios updates to fully support the new technology.

Kitguru says: Holding fire on an upgrade? Might be a good idea, for a few months anyway.

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